


Inspirational

by Remusofpaper



Category: silly vampire boyfriends
Genre: Actually gonna use a couple diff posts as inspiration, Bisexual Male Character, Blood and Violence, Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Eventual Smut, Fae & Fairies, Folklore, Gay Male Character, Genderfluid Character, Human/Vampire Relationship, I'll put the original post in the description, I'm going to write it, I'm too excited for someone mediocre at writing, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Love Triangles, M/M, Not my idea but running with it b/c it's great, Original Character(s), Trans Female Character, Vampire Sex, Writing this instead of my other book, but might not post it, but who isn't going to hell these days?, fucking love triangles, graphic depiction of vampires feeding, honestly it's going to be trash, hope this works out?, kidwrite is a wonderful human being for putting up with my shit, love me some weird vampire kinks, possibly?, punk human boyfriend, this'll get messy, tumblr post inspired, vampire boyfriend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-05-19 05:47:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14867793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remusofpaper/pseuds/Remusofpaper
Summary: I was inspired by a handful of Tumblr posts to make this, but I only distinctly remember two1. "A human getting pissed at their vampire boyfriend so they put in a silver sterling tongue stud and bracelets and earrings and their vampire boyfriend is just standing five feet away like "babe. c'mon."," (Not sure of the "author")2. "I would honestly prefer reading about the stupid paranormal romance where the weird non-human boyfriend can't work out the DVD player over brooding manipulative and controlling asshole trope."  (written/created by ofools on Tumblr)I couldn't find the original posts beside screenshots so I don't have URLs...A story about two men who fall in love and along the way, the punk, human boyfriend gets pissed at his stupid vampire BF and decides that he wants Italian tonight.





	1. A beginning of sorts

**Author's Note:**

> Just so all y'all know (lmao, "all you all" hehe, I'm stupid), I can't spell for shit and I'm only okay at grammar and punctuation. BUUT, my beta is a shit ton better; so, I wove you kidwrite! Anyways, hope you enjoy!

The cool wind blew my shaggy hair into my eyes. Brushing it back into place, I glanced up from the sidewalk in front of me to see two men laughing amicably with one another. One of whom I recognized-by his cropped blond hair- as my friend Tom. The other man, whose skin was a luminous golden brown under the electric street lamps, was someone whom I did not know. His smile, perfectly straight, and leather jacket left open despite the way the cold air was worming its way through everyone’s clothes. I snapped out of my reverie and chastised myself for ogling a stranger so blatantly. Looking back to Tom, I saw that he had been waving me over, so I continued on my way, refusing to look back to the handsome stranger until we were introduced.

“Oi, Anthony, glad you finally decided to show up! This is my mate Gabriel; Gabriel I’ve been tellin’ you about Anthony, this shaggy ‘aired ‘ermit over ‘ere. If you’ll believe it, I finally convinced ‘im to come out wif-” as I reached them, Tom was cut off by Gabriel, his firm jaw clenched.

“I’ve told you before, I’d rather you didn’t use that word.” My eyes went wide, glancing between the two; Tom’s eyes fell to the ground, hands shoved deep in his coat pockets.

“I- uh, I forgot again. Sorry... pal? Ant, I’m goin’ to ‘ead inside and see if I can snag a table.” I nodded and waved him inside; a sigh escaped Gabriel’s lips as he walked over to the empty wall and sagged against it. After a second of awkwardly standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk, I went over to stand next to the brooding stranger who apparently didn’t like the word ‘mate.’

“He’s english.” At my comment, Gabriel looked up at me with a dull look in his eyes.

“I’m not an idiot.” sighing, a tad frustrated with his immediate attitude, I leaned my head back against the wall before turning my head to look back down at Gabriel. Our eyes made contact.

“I only meant that he did it out of habit and he feels bad for offending you. Don’t hold it against him.” I replied softly, Gabriel stared at me for a moment longer, contemplating, then nodded and turned back to the street in front of us. Lifting my head up, I turned my body towards him, and held out my hand. “I’m Anthony, it’s… interesting to meet you.” Gabriel snorted and shook my proffered hand.

“I apologize for my behavior,” he straightened his shoulders, “I get a little moody when I’m hungry.” I grinned crookedly at him, and his eyes flashed down for a second.

“Did you want to grab a bite to eat before we go in? It’s not good to drink on an empty stomach.” Gabriel chuckled and gave me a secretive smile, one that put me on edge.

“I don’t plan on drinking tonight, thanks for the tip though,” nodding, I brushed dirty blond hair out of my eyes.

“I’m not drinking either, so you’ll have a sober-buddy if you want one?” Gabriel tilted his head, studying me.

“Why not?” His bright, grey eyes were sharp and curious. I shrugged at him.

“I don’t like my-uh, behavior when I drink.” Gabriel opened his full lips a second time but was cut off when Tom poked his head out the door.

“I got us a good table by the stage, ‘urry before the bloody fratfuckers take it.” he scratched at his chin before slowly glancing to Gabriel beside me. “I’m sorry about before, I’ll try harder to be less of an ass.” The man leaning next to me sighed before pushing himself off the wall and clapping Tom on the shoulder.

“Water under the bridge my friend. Let’s go in.” Tom instantly brightened up and threw his arm around Gabriel, although the height difference turned the gesture awkward since Tom was so much shorter. As they moved inside, Tom turned to call me in.

“Come on Anthony, make like an ant and scurry.” Laughing at his own joke, Tom turned back to face Gabriel and whispered to him, mirth shining in his eyes. Gabriel glanced back at me and his lips twitched up to reveal a toothy smile as they amused one another.  
With a roll of my eyes I followed after the two and walked into the loud bar. A group of frat boys were howling in the corner, urging their swaying friend to drink faster. Beer was spilling over the side of his glass, unto his face, and down the front of his shirt. I winced, feeling way out of my realm. Drunk strangers were never fun.. When Tom begged for me to come out tonight he mentioned a calm night, sipping drinks with friends as we listened to our friend Sabin play live music with her bandmates. I didn't mind going out, as long as I could actually hear the people I was hanging out with. A woman around my age - silky black hair and swaying hips - eyed me up and down on her way across the room. Her looks made heat flood my core, but I really wasn't in the mood to flirt, so I just nodded jerkily and kept walking. When we finally made it to the table I had to pull off my jacket, the heat of all the bodies in the room started to make me sweat. Tom sat across from me, smiling ear to ear, forcing Gabriel to take the seat to my right which had been pushed out of the line of human traffic, it was so close our elbows brushed when Gabriel sat down.

"I saw that fit-bird eyein’ you, if you want to go chat ‘er up I won’t ‘old it against ye. I’ll ‘ave someone to keep me from perishin’." Tom nodded over to Gabriel who I didn't bother glancing at, out of embarrassment.

"I'm okay, not really interested. If you’re going to the bar, can you grab me a coke while you’re up there? You want anything, Gabriel?" I tried to get Gabriel to speak up with my eyes but Tom pulled my attention back.

"Oh, tryin’ ta change the subject, are you? Is this because of that gormless brunette you were snoggin’ at Rachel's thir’ieth birthday par’y? The name was somethin’ like... Amanda? Look, if you’re that ‘ung up I'd go and try to see what havin’ a li’le fun could do for you." I snorted at his antics.

"It was Amon, and no I'm not hung up on him, I'm just not interested.” I heard fabric shift to my right and caught a glance of Gabriel’s toned chest moving under his turtleneck as he slid off his jacket.

"What, do you not like women?" Gabriel glanced up at me through his lashes as he hung his jacket on his chair, at his question a mischievous smile stole my face.

"Oh, I like women," a chuckle broke out of me, "but men are just as...fine." Gabriel eyed me with a new light, his interest obvious. I looked back at him, unflinching, leaning on the table with my crossed arms.

"Now that that's se’led, I'm goin’ to get myself a drink. You know, the great thing about borin’ friends is that the bar tab usually isn't too bad at the end of the night." Tom laughed at his own joke and I snorted.

"If I was so boring why did you beg me to come out with you?" Tom's ears turned scarlet and before he could answer, Gabriel burst out laughing.

"My friend, Anthony is right. Boring people are never this funny, either.” we glanced at each other, mirth in our eyes, laughing loudly. After a bit I realized how long I had been looking at him and felt my face warm before turning away. Tom rolled his eyes at the ceiling and turned in the direction of the bar, pushing his way through the crowd.

“So… How did you meet Tom?” I drawled, playing a little game of thumb war with myself to ease my social jitters.  
Gabriel leaned on the table with one arm, “you really don’t need to fill the silence with small talk, I’m not that desperate for conversation.”  
I blew a raspberry and nodded, looking away, “my bad, I’ll just...” I trailed off as I ran my tongue piercing along the back of my teeth, trying to seem less affected. The silence was too heavy for my liking and I checked to see if Gabriel was bothered at all. When I did eventually look, I saw that he was looking at me, eyes fixed on my mouth. I flushed, inappropriate thoughts forming, before realizing he was probably looking at the piercing I was currently toying with.

“How long have you had that?” I snickered at Gabriel’s question, my awkward feelings melting away.

“I thought you didn’t like small talk?” I retorted; Gabriel looked affronted, drawing back. I laughed at his obvious lack of words and put my hand on his forearm, “I’m just teasing, I had my tongue pierced my freshman year of college.” Gabriel was staring at my hand so I drew it back and drummed my fingers on the table.

“What made you decide to…?” Gabriel started to ask before hesitating.

“Pierce my tongue? Eh-“ I blew out a breath, thinking, “guess I got tired of wanting something so badly and never doing anything about it? After I got my tongue pierced, and my world didn’t end, I started doing things that I always wanted to, like boys!” A stupid grin fell on my face when I saw Gabriel struggling to hold in his laughter. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in and his head fell forward onto my shoulder, his shoulders shaking violently. After a few minutes he calmed down and sat up, rubbing his hands over his face.

Seeing movement to my left, I saw Tom finally coming back with our drinks. My coke had a little umbrella in it for some reason, it was sat so precariously that when Tom sat down my coke it almost fell out. I reached out a finger and pushed it in further, laughing at it’s flimsiness. “What the fuck is this Tom?”

Tom himself had been giggling about it, sipping at a grapefruit colored liquid in a brandy glass. “It’s from Brady, he thought we ‘ought to celebrate me finally convincin’ you to come out to a par’y.” Rolling my eyes I picked up the glass and tried to drink, the umbrella poking me in the nose. Plucking it from the glass, I stuck the wet end in my mouth.

“You know Brady as well?” Gabriel questioned, I turned back to him, the umbrella still in my mouth.

After drying the umbrella, I slipped it from my lips and replied, “college friend, I’d make him dinner for the week and he’d get me whatever I wanted ‘of equal value’.” I say the last bit with air quotes, quoting Brady directly. Sticking the umbrella behind my ear, I picked up my glass and took a sip, thirstier than I thought before. “Sometimes we supported the college stereotype of underage kids sneaking in alcohol, other times I’d just ask him to go run errands for me or whatever else I could think of. It’s funny because he never had any issues getting me what I wanted, but then again I never asked. Didn’t want to spoil the magic.” I emphasized that with a wiggle of my fingers. Gabriel smiled in that secretive manner again, but the smile turned more amused when he glanced at my new accessory.

“I was sor’ a worried you two wouldn’t mix well, but it’ looks like you’re ge’ing along jus’ fine! One crisis aver’ed.” Tom was sat relaxed on his stool, looking relieved and happy. I guess it was important that his friends got along. Behind him the band that consisted of our friend Sabin and the rest of her four band-mates were starting to check the tune of their instruments.

“Sabin’s up, Tom. Actually she’s making her way over.” I said and pointed to Sabin, with one long braid hanging over each of her broad shoulders. Next to Tom, visually it was hard to tell why Sabin and Tom were friends. With her brightly streaked hair and cheek piercings it would seem that I probably befriended her first with my small collection of piercings and fondness for rock music, but Tom is way better at making friends than I was. He could probably befriend a cactus, thinking it had a great personality.

“Tommo! Gabby! And is that Ant I see? Did you have to bribe him Tommo? I wouldn’t be surprised if you lied and told him and this was actually a gentleman's tea party, instead of a frat’s home away from home, before he came to a bar.” Sabin’s loud voice could be heard easily over the general din of the crowd, projecting was something that always came easy to her.

Next to me, Gabriel’s confused voice piped up, “This is Ant? Why do you never call him Anthony when you were telling your crazy stories?” Sabin grinned hugely, amused by Gabriel.

“Does it bother you Gabby? That you didn’t know that we had actually been talking about Ant over here? All those Risqué stories?” I gave Sabin a confused look.

“You’re making this weird Sabin, come talk to us after the show, you’ll be off your little performance high.” She rolled her eyes and snorted, gone in a flash, back to the stage to warm up. “I’ve always been confused about why she only acts that weird right before a show or if she had a little to drink. It’s like she’s been amped up to twenty on a ten point dial.” still curious about his reaction, I turned to Gabriel, “What kind of stories has Sabin been telling you that made you so surprised they were about me?”

Gabriel eyed me suspiciously, “Sabin tells the most hilarious stories about a mysterious Ant, who I had never met.” Gabriel paused to think, looking away from me while he tried to remember a story that was apparently about me, “The one I remember the most, only because Sabin likes to tell it the most, is when Sabin had rented out a strip club for her own birthday and-”

  
Before he could continue I burst out laughing along with Tom, who sprayed both Gabriel and I with his mixed drink. Practically wheezing at this point I wiped the sweet liquid off my face.

“Ah, that was a night to remember, holy shit I haven’t heard that story in a while. Does Sabin really tell it that often?” I questioned Gabriel in amazement. In response his eyes widened and flickered down my body in confusion, I could see a faint pink tint on his cheeks.

“It’s ‘er best story Anthony, come on, wouldn’t you tell it all the time too?” Tom interjected, chuckling across from me.

“Wait, you’re telling me that you started pole dancing and stripping at Sabin’s party, and you were completely sober?” That started another round of laughter between Tom and I, Tom actually slapping the table after a minute, clutching his stomach. Calming down a little I tried to answer Gabriel.

“The pole dancers there were utter trash, I just got tired of seeing such a garbage performance. So I went up there, I was actually an exotic dancer and a pole dancer in college.” Gabriel was staring slack mouthed at me, which only made Tom laugh harder.

“You-” Gabriel’s voice broke and he had to clear his throat, which only served to make Tom wheeze,” You aren’t joking with me right? That’s-” Gabriel looked me up and down again, cheeks aflame. I wasn’t sure if I was irritated with his stereotypical reaction or embarrassed because he was so hot and checking lil’ old me out.

“I’m not messing with you, but I am flattered that I’m Sabin’s best story.” I picked up my coke and took a sip, honestly, I’m so thirsty.

Tom finally calmed down enough to gulp in some air, gasping rather loudly. This was just in time for Sabin and the rest of the band to introduce themselves. I hooted along with the clapping crowd.

  
At the sound of Johan, their lead singer, humming quietly into the microphone the crowd quieted; conversation coming to a stand still. His deep raspy voice enrapturing the crowd.

A sizzling, ringing symbol joined Johan, followed by a slow bass guitar. The sounds slowly built together until Johan was actually singing, quiet and intense, but clear. Suddenly, Sabin took the stage with a wild drum solo, building up the song into something that moved your toes for you. An electric guitar joined after her solo and the entire band jumped in on the electrified beat.  
The crowd around me cheered in an excited frenzy, some singing along to the words. I lost myself to the music, singing along myself. Quietly of course, I didn’t want to break any eardrums. Tom had turned all the way around at this point, facing the stage, and was nodding his head to the beat.

When the song ended, the crowd gave a loud cheer, I howled loudly from our table up front.

“Go Sabin! Woo-oh!” Tom cheered, practically spilling his drink in his excitement. This of course made me laugh, the dork. After several more songs, the band left the stage to loud cheering, sweat pouring off their bodies. Sabin jumped off the stage and jogging up to us.

“Get off your asses and give me a group hug! I fucking rocked it up there!” We all cheered and somehow I got smashed into Gabriel as we all crowded around Sabin. My arm was wrapped around his side, cupping his rib cage. Awkwardly, I pretended not to notice, letting go when everyone else decided the hug was over.

“You were amazing up there!” I crowed to Sabin, her manic grin infectious.

“Why, thank you! But I don’t need you to tell me the obvious.” We all laughed, hopped up off the buzzing atmosphere.

“Congratulations on another successful night. I think your bandmates are calling you.” Gabriel smiled fondly and pointed over to our right where Johan and the rest of Sabin’s bandmates were waving at her.

“Those fuckers? Man, they can’t get enough of me,” Sabin winked mischievously and whirled away in a wave of long, colorful braids and the smell of sweat.

  
, ,

 

After two more bands went up, the three of us decided to call it a night. Pulling Tom out the door, we waved to Sabin and the gang, they barely noticed us over the writhing crowd celebrating them.

  
Gabriel and I decided to get Tom in a cab first, paying the cabby in advance, we sent him off with him promising to drink water before falling asleep.

“We’ll see how long he actually remembers to do that.” I laughed at Gabriel’s comment, but stopped when I heard his stomach growl loudly.

“You sure you don’t want to grab something to eat? I know a great Italian place down the street from here that makes a mean chicken parm.” I offered to Gabriel a second time. He smiled at me, the secretive look in his eyes again.

“I’m okay, really, there is a pizza place right next to where I live. I’ll just grab something from there.” Gabriel said. I nodded and looked back out to the street, waiting quietly until our ride showed up. When deciding who should share the cab, we had discovered that I heading in the same directing as him, so we decided to just split the fair and take the same cab.  
The ride towards home was comfortably quiet, neither of us feeling the need to speak. Gabriel hummed the tune to the opening song from Sabin’s band for a while. His stomach grumbled loudly again, making me snort. His eyes flashed, giving me the second degree before he took a deep breath and looked out the window. Guess he wasn’t kidding about being cranky when he’s hungry. Wish I’d brought a snickers.

At his stop Gabriel quickly paid his half and wished me a good night, I watched him quickly jog towards an apartment building across the street. The mostly dead bushes and brick facade giving me a classic New York apartment vibe. So much for pizza I guess.

Pulling my jacket tighter around me to fight the cold that his open door had brought in, I told the cabby to go on. Street lamps flashing in my eyes, I closed them for a minute, my exhaustion suddenly hitting me. Turning my face from the window after a few minutes, I settled in for the ride home, maybe fifteen minutes left for me.

A bump woke me up a minute later, my hand flying out to steady me, but hitting a small object instead of the seat. Looking down in the still moving vehicle, I saw an unfamiliar wallet sitting in the seat next to me. I assumed it was Gabriel’s but I double checked the ID inside for certain. A smaller version of his face staring up at me, I hurried to get the cabbie’s attention.

“Sir! My friend left his wallet in here, could you go back so I could give it to him?” The older man grumbled to me, but after promising to pay for the extra mileage and the waiting he would have to do, he did a probably illegal u-turn and started on his way back to Gabriel’s apartment. We arrived relatively quickly, and I quickly slid out of the car. The cab had stopped in the parking lot for the pizza place Gabriel had probably been talking about, seeing as there was only a five minute walk from the pizza place to his apartment building. Heading towards the apartment, I slid his wallet next to mine so I could put my hands in my pockets, the wind picking up. I almost didn’t notice the scuffling sound over the sound of the wind in my ears. As I neared a small alleyway between a building next to the pizza joint and the adjacent building, I could hear a scuffling and a strange wheezing gurgle. Suddenly the wheezing broke off and I crossed in front of the alleyway to hear a soft thump. Looking down it out of curiosity, I was suddenly nauseated, regretful for following my instinct.

The alley itself was dark enough to only make out basic details, the jerking of limbs and dirty boots. At first I thought the dark tangle of limbs was some hell-beast, with four arms, one set looked as though they were set on backwards. Then, once my eyes had adjusted I realized it was so much worse. A figure in a large, masking coat was crouched and leaning forward over a limp body that had been pulled into its lap. A set of arms not belonging to the jerking figure, splayed awkwardly outwards into the air, dipping towards the ground. The jerking of the person holding the body would cause the arms to bounce a little, emphasizing the horrible angle which one of them was bent. Around boots that seemed to be falling off the attackers feet, was a small puddle of dark liquid. The side of the boots and some of the pant leg had a dark trail showing where it run down from the dead body.

I stood there, not understanding, my mouth halfway open. Faintly I wondered if I needed to do something, if this was any of my business. Abruptly, in the middle of my dazed wondering, the crouched figure let out an irritated growl and yanked its head back. The noise chilling me to my core, such an animalistic sound should not come out of another human being. With the yank of the person’s head came a quiet ripping noise and a small amount of dark liquid flew through the air. To continue to use “dark liquid” instead of blood, was a tad idiotic, or even childish; but I hadn’t wanted to admit that this was blood on the ground and that was blood that had just flown through the air.

With a clawed hand, long pale fingers clutched at the shoulder of the dead body in their lap and yanked it closer to the ground and with the other hand, pulling at a tuft of dark hair attached to a separate head, revealing someone else’s forehead as it was pulled above the attackers shoulder. The dead body gave no resistance to this shameless person as more quiet ripping sounds could be heard along with a slurping and sucking. The way the neck of the dead was bent at such a grotesquely obtuse angle made me glad I couldn’t see more.

Before I could even blink, the crouched maniac began to move. They again were growling in frustration, and slid the hand that was pulling at the shoulder around to the corpse’s back, their other arm finding the front of the corpse's chest. I was confused at the odd hold the person had on the body until they began pumping the chest like a horrible version of an accordion, right over the heart. When giving CPR to a patient, the purpose was to move the blood around the body, however, contrary to its usual purpose, these compressions weren’t meant to save a life.

I felt cold, standing at the mouth of the alleyway. Abruptly, I realized that I was gaping at the brutal murder and massacre of some poor person, as if the killer couldn’t turn their dark-haired head and spot me. My body felt thin as paper, so much in fact that when a cold, cutting wind blew past me, it almost knocked me over. Everything around me suddenly seemed brighter, cartoonish even. The sidewalk sliding under me like a giant treadmill, my trembling legs just slower than it, stumbling as I tried to catch up. I took in a deep breath of cold air after my third step, struggling to pull it in, even though I had been holding my breath.

Walking soon became too much for my rubbery legs and I closed my eyes against the confusing lights, the side of my body thumping against and sliding down the building. Amidst my nauseous haze, a hand fell on my shoulder. I shrieked so high in my vocal range that only a pathetic hissing noise came out, falling back on my ass.

“Are you okay, do you need me to call nine one one?” A worried female voice sounded from my left, I froze, my nails rough against the concrete. Glancing to the left, there stood a black woman, her graying hair cropped short with a fade. Her eyes were warm and worried, which calmed me down from an instant panic attack. She couldn’t be the attacker, could she? I shook my head at that, whoever had torn apart that body would be something straight out of the movie Carrie.

My sluggish tongue, slightly unresponsive, allowed me to eventually gave her a halting answer, “No, I just- I just got dizzy and,” mid-way through my balant lie my voice started to fail me, I cleared my throat, “and you just startled me.” I tried to steady myself to at least make it look like I wasn’t about to topple over. The woman put her hand on my shoulder more firmly.

“You sure, Sugar? I’ll talk to the cops if you’re worried.” My eyes watered suddenly, a nice woman like this should never know what I just saw. As much as I needed to tell someone, I couldn’t rationally come up with a story that wouldn’t make me seem like I was on drugs. Blinking back my tears, I sat up straight and looked her in the eyes.

“I’m sure, thank you for stopping to check on me.”

“Of course, Baby. I don’t recognize you, you lost?” She placed the back of her dark hand on my forehead. I wanted to laugh at her asking a man almost in his thirties if he was lost, but couldn’t really muster the light emotion.

“My friend left his wallet in the cab we were sharing, I just wanted to return it.” I swallowed, finally starting to calm down and focus on what was around me. “He lives in this building, I just got a little dizzy.” I had no idea what I was doing, or even how to get Gabriel his wallet, I hadn’t thought this far. I also realized that I needed to say something about the attack it could happen to anyone, even this nice woman in front of me, but I was just so unsure of what my next move should be. When I got to Gabriel I would ask him what to do, my brain was too fried to really think.

“I’ll get you inside, I live here too. Who’s your friend, Sugar, I might know who he is.” With gentle hands she urged me to stand up and helped me to keep my initial balance before leading me inside.

Rubbing at my face with my free hand, I tried to get my brain to actually do something, “His name is Gabriel, he’s got short, dark hair, strong build.- uh,” shortly, I realized I could really only give physical descriptions for the most part, to my embarrassment. The woman I was leaning on made a happy sound.

“I know Gabriel! He’s a handsome young man, talks real formal?” I nodded at her, trying to pull some of my weight off of her.

“That sounds like him.” At my reply, she lifted her hand up and patted my shoulder, having to reach awkwardly high to do so.

“I’ll take you up, Honey. Don’t you worry.” Her calming voice soothing me further, allowing me to take a deep breath.

“Thank you so much for the help, I- I’m not sure how far I would have gotten without you.” My voice drifting towards the end of my thanking the kind stranger. Before she could answer, a loud bang from somewhere above us made me flinch. She eyed me quietly, before answering.

“It’s no problem, Baby. My name’s Gloria by the way, I figure if you’re one of Gabriel’s friends we’ll probably see each other again,” she said simply. “I live on the floor below Gabriel. He sometimes gets some of my mail on accident and I, his.” She stayed while we waited for the elevator.

When it dinged and the doors opened, I was walking on my own without any assistance. The shorter, black woman pressed the button for the sixth floor. Throughout our interaction I had been trying to suppress the still fresh memories of some poor person being massacred in an alleyway. My gut felt like it was in knots, writhing and rolling.

After our quick ride, Gloria brought me to the suite numbered 9420. I could help but snort, even in my shocked state. Gloria gave me a confused look and I only shrugged at her. Reaching up a veiny hand, she gently knocked on the door four times, I could hear a saxophone playing on the other side of the door. Maybe twenty seconds later a refreshed looking Gabriel opened the door.

“Gloria and… Anthony? I’m surprised to see you two together. How do-” Gabriel cut himself off when he saw the pallor of my face and the way my knees shook like a newborn deer.

“I found him outside our building, using the bricks to support himself. He said he was just dizzy. When I realized he was looking for you of all people, I helped him upstairs.” Gloria scrutinized me after saying all this, a sweat broke out on my upper lip. This was probably a weird thing to notice since they were both fretting over me, Gabriel hesitantly letting me in and and Gloria ushering me to his leather couch; but Gabriel’s skin was practically glowing. I hadn’t really thought about it at the bar, but earlier his under eye bags stood out starkly against his terra-cotta complexion, which was nothing since we all had terrible eye bags. But now, his eye bags were gone and he seemed to have more energy than before, his mood was even boosted. I guess he ate, but that doesn’t explain much.

  
I shook myself out of my weird train of thought, it was probably just my overwhelmed brain trying to cope. Once they sat me down and I actually started to focus on my surroundings, I started feeling around in my pocket with a shaky hand. Numbed fingers struggling to tell the difference between our wallets, I pulled out my own on accident. Flushing slightly, I reached into my pocket to Gabriel’s wallet while stuttering out my short and- well- trimmed, story.  
“I- uh, well, you left your wallet in the cab and I got the cabby to turn around before I got home.” At this moment I felt like an idiot that couldn’t see the reason he was being stupid, but just knew I was somehow being incredibly stupid, “I just got dizzy before I could get into your apartment building. It’s really nothing to worry about.” I sent Gabriel a pleading glance, flicking my eyes to his neighbor. I then realized I was feeling stupid because I had decided to tell Gabriel without really thinking about the repercussions, I didn’t know him that well. Would he even believe me? Gabriel’s brows furrowed, confusion written plainly across his face. He glanced at Gloria then back at me, bewildered at my strange actions and even more concerning appearance. I flicked my eyes between Gloria and the door. Luckily she had been unwrapping her metallic green scarf from around her neck, or she would have definitely seen my not so subtly gestures. He raised his brow before nodding subtly, much better at this than I was, and dusting off his pants before standing from his crouch in front of me.

“Thank you Gloria, for assisting Anthony. I’ll handle him from here, and you needn’t worry, if I need your assistance, myself, I will call.” Gabriel gave her a swift kiss on the cheek when they hugged. She wished me a good night, eyeing me uncertainly, before closing the door softly behind herself. I shook myself and turned to Gabriel.

  
“I’m sorry for being so cryptic, I just-,” I hesitated, the thought of telling Gabriel, it seemed daunting, “I needed to tell you something that I wasn’t comfortable also telling Gloria.” If Gabriel had looked bewildered before, he certainly did now.

  
“Oh.” He replied simply, unsure how to reply to something so vague.

“I-fuck,” my heart beating out of my chest, I roughly rubbed my face before continuing, “I saw something when I was walking up to your building.” I looked up to meet his eyes and he shifted from beyond bewildered to still confused, but intent. “I saw someone ripping at another person’s throat.” I refrained from saying the worlds “and drinking their blood,” so that he didn’t automatically think I was trying to prank him or just a flat out lunatic. Gabriel’s gaze went blank, not truly seeing me any longer, before snapping back to attention, eyes staring into my soul relentlessly.

“What do you mean?” His voice was almost flat, emotionless, it was startlingly different from what I normally saw of him.

“Well, they were- they were crouched over this limp body. Turned away from me thankfully, but I could hear this slurping sound and…” I was now rambling, trying to tell him the details out before he could judge me. “They, um-well, the person...growled? I don’t know but it sounded like one, and they started ripping at the person beneath them? Their hands came up near where I assumed the dead person’s neck and shoulders where and started pulling it apart.” I went silent, staring over his shoulder now, shivering despite still having my jacket on. Was his apartment drafty? “You could hear the skin ripping.” I whispered finally, no longer really looking at anything.

“How did you know the person was dead?” Gabriel’s voice was starting to sound angry, which confused me, what Gabriel angry with me for some reason? I turned my head, focusing my eyes on him.

“You didn’t see the way their body jerked around like a puppet while whoever was eating them staring yanking at the neck. No one alive could lay that limply.” I kept eye contact with Gabriel as his eyes started to burn.

“Why are you telling me?” Since I hadn’t been looking at him, I hadn’t noticed how tense Gabriel’s body had grown. Even his vocal cords were tight. Although, this wasn’t surprising to me, I had just told him that someone had been murdered and viciously mutilated right outside his doorstep. The goosebumps on my arms were painful as they rubbed against my shirt. Under normal circumstances I probably would have analyzed Gabriel’s question deeper than at face value, but I could barely think beyond following simple commands, and these were not normal circumstances.

“I-I was so scared and I wanted to be somewhere I felt safer, to tell someone I trusted not to immediately think I was crazy.” Gabriel’s mouth worked, but nothing came out. He was slack for a moment, but still angry. I really had no idea what was going on in his head at the moment. “I know I should tell the police,” I pinched the bridge of my nose, “but how do you say you saw someone rip another’s neck appart without sounding like a raving lunatic?” Gabriel didn’t answer right way, chewing on what I said.

“How about... I handle it? You don’t have to worry about it, I’ll call in the body and give a description of the killer. You just tell me what they looked like and you can go home and rest? I’m sure you will feel more comfortable in your own home.” Gabriel’s voice was no longer void of emotion, but now quiet and reassuring. Flabbergasted, but relieved at the thought of never having to speak of this event again until I was ready to, I agreed without much thought. I would probably regret this later, but that was later and right now I wanted to bleach out my brain.  
“They were wearing this long, shapeless coat that masked everything except for the top of their head and a boot that I could see.” I struggled to slog through this memory without getting too wrapped up in what the crouching person was doing. “They- um, they had short dark hair. And-uh, their boots were so old and falling apart that I could see one of their socks through the heel. The coat was black, looked like any other long coat. That’s all I can tell you, I’m sorry, who ever it was was turned away from me.” After I said this I cringed, Gabriel looked so angry and frustrated. Gabriel blew a gust of air through his nose roughly, standing abruptly and marching towards the door. Before he could go very far I grabbed onto his arm without thinking, my heart in my throat.

“Where- where are you going? I…” I didn’t know where I was going with this, but the thought of being alone in a place I didn’t know pushed ice through my veins. Gabriel froze, glancing down at my hand and gritted his teeth.

“How about I call you a cab now? Then you can get away from here and I’ll call the police saying I saw the body, saw this person in a long, black coat running away.” I felt like everything was moving a little too fast for me, but the idea of going home was tempting. I didn’t really care why Gabriel was so angry to be completely honest, but how he was trying to get rid of me so soon after I told him someone was murdered outside his home left me uncertain.

“I-okay... “ I let go of his arm and stood up uncertainly, “Why aren’t you shocked by this? Doesn’t this sound crazy to you?” He took in a deep breath before turning to look up at me.

  
“I’ve... dealt with this before.” Gabriel admitted quietly, and with that I didn’t want to hear anymore for one night.

“Nope-okay. Can you please call a cab for- wait, I almost forgot, the cab we took here is waiting for me outside. Gabriel nodded briskly and rushed for his shoes. I walked uncertainly to the door, unsure if he wanted me to wait by the couch or not. As soon as I got to the door, Gabriel appeared behind me, reaching around me for the nob. I flinched at his sudden closeness, how he should still be putting on his shoes right now.

“Let’s go, yes? I will walk you down to the cab and you can be on your way. You won’t have to give one thought to what you saw.” I stumbled unexpectedly when he ushered me out of his apartment with surprising strength.

“I guess? Uh- thank you for telling the police for me?” Gabriel muttered a non-committal assent. The ride on the elevator was awkward, when it jerked to a stop on the bottom floor my knees buckled and Gabriel awkwardly caught me. “Sorry, I-” There really wasn’t anything to say so I just cleared my throat when he didn’t answer.

As we left the building I noticed Gabriel didn’t have his jacket, and his long sleeves were pushed up. Within the next ten minutes I probably wouldn’t be able to feel my nose, so the idea of rolling up my sleeves made my spine chill in a different way. Although based on Gabriel’s reactions to basically anything I was saying tonight, I decided not to comment. Turning to look down the street, I was so focused on checking if the road was empty that I didn’t notice the cab was gone. Startled, I check up and down the street to no avail.

“I thought you said you had a cab?” Gabriel was speaking through his teeth, and it was surprisingly menacing. I swallowed and replied, checking to see if there was anyone on the street behind us.

“I-well- he was?” My voice was weak, “I-I promised to pay him extra for waiting. I guess he left? I don’t…” Lost for words I turned back to see him pacing.

“You need to order a cab off your phone… Do you have the- what do you call them? Application? Yes, do you have an application?” I stopped pulling my phone out of my pocket, my arm motionless at a weird angle behind me.

“Are you asking me if I have that app you use to call taxis?” This really wasn’t a funny situation and I was less amused and more apathetic, but I was just so confused. Gabriel waved me off irritably, marching now.

“Just call a cab to you , you should get home sooner than later.” His weird persistence making me rather uncomfortable, I decided not to respond, only speaking again when I ordered the cab. “Do you know how long it should take them to get here?” After I answered him in the negative, he paused his pacing, putting his hand on his forehead. “I’m going to wait with you, we don’t know if the murderer has left yet.” Hearing Gabriel saying murderer so willy-nilly out in the air pushed me further to the edge. Not only was I outside where I saw the murder last, but I only had my very breakable body to protect myself with.

We waited in silence for however too long it took the cab to arrive, then a minute more when we saw the taxi drive past our street and have to turn around. Whenever I stood in one place for too long, the feeling of watching eyes would creep up my spine and sit between my shoulder blades. When the cab finally arrived I sighed in relief, and wished the pissed off Gabriel a hesitant goodnight. He nodded while his eyes searched down the way the cab was supposed to be and where the dead body may still lay. I didn’t think I was going to sleep tonight, but I was glad I was going home instead of staying here.


	2. Holy shit, you're a what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony is petty after his friends do some dumb shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I wanted to post this sooner but when I was editing I realized that the chapter wasn't good enough, so I cried and then did a bunch more editing... Anyways, enjoy!

Only after chugging half a bottle of NyQuil, was I able to get some semblance of sleep. To be honest I just didn’t want to think about or remember the night before, so I didn’t. I did everything in my power to forget about it and not call Gabriel for answers the next morning. I couldn’t help wondering how long I could avoid Gabriel before it was obvious to Tom. Then, I realized mid toast-chewing that I had never met Gabriel before yesterday, so it would be normal if I didn’t initiate contact for a while; I instantly relaxed. 

One problem solved, I turned to stress-eating and internet shopping to bury my regrets. Opening up my computer, it instantly loaded up some glow in the dark barbells I had been contemplating on buying for my piercing collection. Without much thought I pressed  _ Add to Cart  _ and started scrolling through the  _ Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought _ section, simultaneously stuffing half a slice of toast in my mouth. After more lazy browsing, my cart quickly piled up; new ear jewelry, and a skeletal-hand tongue piercing, holding up the finger, I ripped open a bag of chips to sprinkle over some ice cream I and marveled at my disgusting invention. 

Placing a spoonful in my mouth, I crunched through the chips and freezer burnt ice cream. When I decided that there were no other piercings that piqued my interest, I bought whatever was in my cart and went to another website to browse. Within minutes I already compiled some items into my cart,  _ thanks retail therapy, you always know how to cheer me up. _

If I was being completely honest, I actually felt worse. My teeth hurt because of how cold the ice cream was, and all the junk I bought wouldn’t arrive for more than a week. I nevertheless convinced myself I would probably feel better after more questionable food combinations and wasted money. 

Before I could buy more junk, a knock came at my door, and with that I was out of my comfortable apartment and back on the cold street watching blood hit the wall. Shivering, I stood up with my bowl of cold mush. Checking through my peephole, I spotted my concerned looking friends, Brady and Charlie and… Gabriel? It dawned on me, that if both Brady and Charlie were here with Gabriel, the night after I saw someone murdered, then he probably told them what I saw. As far as I knew, Gabriel only knew: Brady, Sabine, and Tom. He stood next to Charlie now, in an obvious sort of comfort and I couldn’t help but wonder how many friends we had in common. With gritted teeth, I pulled open the door and got straight to the point.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it,” I deadpanned. Gabriel’s brows rose into his dark hairline, his expression seemingly confused by my blatant rejection, while the others stood by stoically. Why would he tell Brady and Charlie of all people, and why did they seem so mild knowing what I saw? I mean, I witnessed a murder less than twenty-four hours ago and they were acting like I rejected an invitation to go out. I began to close the door, but Gabriel stuck his foot into the opening, throwing gasoline on an already lit fire. 

“ _ Really _ ,” a voice chimed. “Chips and ice cream, again?” Charlie’s freckled arms were folded across her slim chest. 

“I feel like shit, leave me alone.” I replied crossly, failing to close the door again. Although it wasn’t Gabriel’s foot that cock-blocked me, Charlie now thwarted my attempt to be left alone.

She sighed like I was a petulant child, but I wasn’t offended, because I am.

“Stop trying to close the door.” Charlie’s voice was firmer now, but this only made me stand my ground more petulantly.

“No.” I simply retorted, opening the space wider to try to slam it in their faces for ruining my mopey-time, but again Charlie caught it before I could hit Gabriel’s stupid, loud-mouthed, foot. I let go of the door and let it creep open on its own as I leaned on the wall, eating my salty-sweet mush. “You guys aren’t allowed in.” I said this after swallowing, casually crossing my ankles. I can see that I’m getting to Charlie now, she’d begun to grind her teeth and turned to glare at Gabriel. Brady on the other hand nods casually to me when I finally regard him. “Hey, Brady.” 

“What do you mean  _ hey, Brady _ ? You know what,  _ fuck you and your weird food _ , we are coming in and  _ you _ are going to listen to what we have to say.” Charlie stomped into my doorway, and began pushing me backwards and out of her way. I sighed and stepped to the left, letting her walk in.

“Hey, Anthony.” Brady quietly replied as he walked in, following a fuming Charlie. I snorted.

“And, Charlie? The food matches my soul, it’s disgusting mush, stop yelling at it.” Gabriel’s head swiveled back and forth between Charlie and I, his face beyond bewilderment. He muttered a quiet apology as he sheepishly followed behind Brady, I shrugged at him, not looking up from the soupy mess in my bowl.  _ Feel guilty, you ass, you’re the one who brought Charlie into this. _

“Shut the fuck up, you emo. Brady, come over here! He’s binge shopping again.  _ Really _ , Anthony, a USB humidifier? What the  _ fuck _ are you going to do with a USB humidifier?”

Still not looking up, I stirred my creamy chip soup. I could see Gabriel standing stiffly in the corner of my eye, so I scooped up a chunky spoonful of my  _ masterpiece  _ and started loudly slurping it up while keeping eye contact with him. “And for the love of your mother-fing balls, stop passive-aggressively slurping that nasty shit at Gabriel.” I rolled my eyes and walked over to shut the computer Charlie was currently poking through.

“What do you want, Charlie?” I questioned lowly. Gabriel and Charlie both stood up straighter and looked towards Brady who shrugged and nodded towards me. The three of them entered some weird telepathic-moment, before Charlie took a step back, shoulders tense. All her yelling was really just her stressing. She was all screech and no bite; well, for the most part. Turning to Gabriel, I ate another spoonful, waiting for an explanation. I saw him contemplating how to tell me something for a minute or two, before straightening his shoulders.

“I came here to say a couple— rather important— things and brought some of our mutual friends along for… support.” I started chewing another spoonful, trying to appear bored but my heart started to race. “First, I wanted to apologize to you for treating you so harshly after what you saw. There is no excuse.” I pulled the bowl away from my face to look down at Gabriel properly, and his shoulders deflated into an ashamed slump, his eyes distant. After a small silence, Gabriel raised his eyes to meet mine, and I nodded for him to continue. He stole a breath, and foraged on. “I also need to tell you something incredibly dangerous about what you saw.” I clutched alarmingly tight to the bowl, shoulders tensing at the memory of last night. 

“When you say dangerous-” I swallowed embarrassingly loud- “Do you mean you are warning me about something dangerous or is the knowledge dangerous? If the knowledge is dangerous, do I really need to know?” At my questions, Brady started laughing quietly and Charlie reached across the table to smack him on the back of the head. Gabriel looked troubled, unsure even.

“It’s a bit of both, but really, it’s the knowledge that’s dangerous. We thought it was only fair that you knew.” When Gabriel continued to meet my eyes, I could see him searching for something, but I could also see regret. It was pretty shitty when Gabriel just threw me out the door after I told him I had just seen someone murdered. Surprisingly, it appeared that he really regretted it. Then the fact that my friends all knew something dangerous seemed fishy, how did they all know each other and was it only Brady and Charlie who also knew? The fact that this whole situation brought up more questions made me want to know less, and what made me want to know even less was the fact that, as far as I knew, Brady, Charlie, and Gabriel had all had some sort of secret meeting to decide if they wanted to let me in on some big secret about the murder. Who does that?

“You know what? I’m good, no thanks for stopping by.” I started ushering Charlie towards the door, but she simply walked around me and sat down at my kitchen table. After a second of hesitation Gabriel began to turn and head towards the door, before Charlie piped up again.

“Gabriel, get your ass back here, Anthony you sit your ass down and listen to us talk. This is something important that we probably should have told you sooner.” That comment confused me.

“I thought we were talking about the murder?” I sat down across from her, sitting in a wide stance so my legs didn’t get stuck under the table. Slowly, Gabriel shuffled back over, deciding to sit to my left as Brady claimed the chair to my right. 

“We are,” Brady said simply, “But we have other things to discuss too.” Which was rather vague, but since I didn’t want to know, I didn’t ask. Gabriel cleared his throat and waited for me to look at him.

“The man you saw - and he was a man- was a vampire and you saw him feeding.” Charlie was clenching her hands tightly, watching them with rapped interest. Brady was observing me calmly and I was looking to Gabriel with raised eyebrows.  _ This is what they came to tell me?  _

“...A vampire.” I replied in monotone, letting this new information soak in. The usual, panicked thoughts floating by. I picked up my bowl to drink the rest of my soup, Charlie sighed, frustrated.

They could be punking me, but that would be pretty shit. Or Gabriel and the other two could just be in some weird pseudo-vampire cult and think that they are actually real. Then again, I did just see some guy drinking someone’s blood, so, the whole vampire thing didn’t feel so off, especially since whoever that guy was seemed to be a little too strong. I mean, he ripped that person’s neck practically in two. Although, vampires aren’t real, so maybe it’s some weird bath-salt shit where this crazy guy thinks he’s a vampire; but then why would Gabriel call him a vampire if the guy was only crazy? On top of that, Gabriel said he had dealt with this before, he’s dealt with Vampires before? What does that even-

My thoughts were cut off when Gabriel tentatively touched my arm. The hairs there now standing on end, I lowered the bowl and looked at him.

“Are you okay, Anthony?” His worried eyes bore into me. “Do you want proof? We can give you proof if you needed it.” Gabriel’s voice was quiet and his hand was gently moving down my arm to grasp my wrist comfortingly. Looking away from his hand I turned with squinted eyes to see Charlie had flattened her clenched fists on the table and was also looking at me with concerned eyes.

“What do you mean,  _ we can give you proof _ ?” I asked. Brady pursed his lips. Charlie, from across the table let out an irritated sigh.

“Is this how this whole conversation is going to go? I thought the word “proof” was self-explanatory, but I guess not. Let’s hurry this up, I don’t have all day.” She stood up and took a step back from the table. 

“Woah woah, hold on!” Gabriel leapt up from his chair holding out his arms in a pacifying manor. Brady whistled to grab Gabriel’s attention. 

“Why don’t we just show him? Get it over with. Then we aren’t arguing for an hour over if we’re real or not.” Brady said, shrugging. Gabriel sputtered.

“We can’t just suddenly show him a banshee, he’s already seen enough terrifying things. We need to introduce this gently.” Brady laughed at Gabriel’s suggestion.

“You do realize  _ who _ you brought with you?” They both turned to look at where Charlie was standing. It took me a second to catch up.

“Wait,  _ banshee _ ? What do you mean?” I echoed, confused at how serious they sounded. Charlie groaned low in her throat and yanked once at her long hair.

“Anthony, look.” she snapped suddenly, “All your friends are supernatural creatures. Well, not all, but enough for me to say all and it’s not a problem. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t figure it out by now, you should have noticed there was something weird about us. Especially Brady, you’ve been friends with him for almost a decade! How oblivious are you?” Gabriel whirled around and suddenly he was gone, my breath froze, unable to comprehend his sudden disappearance. Then, less than a second later, he was next to Charlie, as if he had been there the whole time.

“Charlie, please. We can’t scare him away. Look, he’s seen a lot and right now we are here to give him answers and comfort, not frighten him further.” Charlie looked away from Gabriel to me, unimpressed with his speech.

“Right,” she drawled, “because you haven’t already done that.” She pointed to my shocked face, arm falling back to her side. Gabriel’s shoulders tensed and he slowly tuned to see me staring, slack jawed. “Anthony, just in case you still don’t believe in the supernatural for no good reason other than sheer stubborn ignorance, I’m going to show you my true form to really hammer this in.” Charlie stated, rolling her shoulders. 

“No, Charlie, listen to someone other than  _ yourself _ for once in your life.” Gabriel tried to sound stern, but even I knew stern  _ never _ worked with Charlie and I drew my gaze back to her to see the spectacle unfold.

 

Pissed off, Charlie turned from glaring at Gabriel and suddenly she didn’t look much like Charlie any more. The free-flowing black hair around her shoulders began ignoring gravity, instead rising off her shoulders. Its tendrils reaching in opposing directions. Her eyes turned bloodshot and her face became blotchy and sallow. Before me, she seemed to lengthen. She brushed one of the curious tendrils from her face and as she did, I noticed long talons at the end of each bony, dry finger.

“What the fuck?!” I shrieked; Brady gaffed loudly from my right, but then he started choking on his own spit so it was less impressive that he could laugh at such a horrible sight. Charlie, with her new skeletal appearance, pulled her thin skin into a gruesome smile. Her laughter came out shrill and piercing, I covered my ears with my hands and scrambled out of my seat, blood racing. I couldn’t feel the floor beneath my feet; consequently, tripping over my too-long legs and knocking my chair over. This only made Charlie shriek louder, the pink, swollen skin around her eyes squishing awkwardly. My ears suffered, and I let out a pained whimper. My ears throbbed even with my hands covering them, but suddenly there was a second set of hands covering mine as Gabriel hissed at Charlie from above me. Usually, I would just mean he said something that was sharp in tone; but Gabriel literally hissed around his fangs - shaped somewhere between a cat and a snake’s - which were now on display.

My jaw fell slack at the sight  _ inches _ above my head. Flashes of gurgling breath and contorted bodies stole the air from my lungs. The shrieking continued, and then the yelling began. Words I couldn’t understand around the sputtering of my heart. I must have made some sort of noise because Gabriel glanced down momentarily. Once he saw me, shaking and struggling to breathe, fear and desperation flashed across his face. That I couldn’t understand. Gabriel was the vampire, not me. 

The noise in my ears was ringing painfully, I wasn’t sure if that was because I was going deaf or I was having some sort of panic attack, but either sounds about right. Slowly, I began to notice that the volume had dropped considerably, Charlie was no longer shrieking freakishly and I didn’t think I could hear much of anything besides the muffled sound of Gabriel’s voice. He removed his hands from my ears, starting up some conflicting emotions. On one hand I wanted as much buffer between my ears and Charlie as possible, but I wasn’t sure I wanted Gabriel - a vampire - to be that buffer.

I felt Gabriel’s warm body move from behind me, subconsciously I had leaned into his offered protection, too focused on the pain in my ears to think about who was behind me. He now moved to crouch next to me and I felt a chill go up my spine due to our proximity. His mouth moved silently, unable to come up with anything good to say. I beat him to the punch.

“Plea-“my voice broke pitifully, “please leave my home.” I saw Charlie open her mouth to answer, from where I sat huddled on the ground, and I involuntarily flinched. Brady slowly raised his hand and put it on her arm, keeping her quiet. Even though her hair was no longer floating, I could still see the image of her corpse-like face fresh in my mind. My nerves jolted with every one of Charlie’s movements. 

“Let’s leave... Just remember that we love you, Anthony. Don’t try to stay hidden forever.” Brady reminded me before ushering Charlie and a hesitant Gabriel out of my house. Brady had a firm hand on both of their backs, not giving an inch which was surprising for his almost-skinny frame. 

When they got to the door, Gabriel resisted Brady’s surprising strength as he gripped the doorway, straining to look back at my shivering and shocked frame still on the floor. His eyes were wide and guilty and pleading me for… something, but I couldn’t stand to keep contact and looked away. He ducked his head and let the wood slip from his fingers, giving no resistance when moved away from my pitiful image. 

 

, ,

 

I called in sick to work the next day, but it wasn’t totally a lie, I had been sick to my stomach all night and the thought of leaving my house made me feel faint. For most of the night I was stuck between the terribly isolating feeling that most of my friends weren’t human and an acidic nausea at the realization that I had been attracted to something so  _ violent _ as a vampire.

As I lay in bed, contemplating becoming a hermit; well, more of a hermit. Sure, I avoid parties, but now I’m not ever going to leave my house.

_ Goodbye cruel world, I’m not dead, I’m just hoping to never see your face again. _

I thought about what Brady said. About how he knew I didn’t want to know and would never want to know. He was right, of course he was, if something was going to cause me trouble I usually tried to avoid it. 

Around two in the afternoon, I finally pulled myself out of bed and moved to sit on the couch instead. Standing in the doorway of my bedroom I looked at the chair I had left knocked over and the bowl of ice cream still on the table. I probably stood there for a good ten minutes, stuck in my own head before a phone ring cut me off. Flinching at the sound, I crept over to where the glow of the screen could be seen on my kitchen countertop.

When I walked over to see who was calling me and I saw that it was Juana, I shuddered and stepped away from the counter, almost tripping over the fallen chair. Juana was even more reclusive than I was, always staying home to study her “craft.” Her craft being witchcraft. I had never put much mind to it, assuming it was more of a spiritual thing, never thinking it could be real. 

Now I couldn’t assume anything was fake. I had to assume any one of my friends could be something other than human. 

The phone stopped ringing and immediately started up again. The sound grated on my nerves, I never miss an opportunity to talk to her, but I just couldn’t deal with talking to Juana knowing she was in on all this bull. The calls continued for a good fifteen minutes and by that point I was on my couch with a pillow, trying to smother myself. The phone cut off mid-ring, and a stagnant silence ensued. I hesitantly pulled the pillow away and leaned my body to try to see the spot where the phone lay.

“Huh, that’s better.” I muttered before the sound of polite knocking at the door caught my attention. Sitting up, I looked over the back of the couch, waiting to hear it again. I bit my lip, hoping it wasn’t who I thought it was. At the repeated sound I stood up and shuffled toward the door.

“Anthony, please open the door!” Came a muffled voice from the other side. Juana’s accented English gave her away. “I won’t force my way into your home, but I do need to see your face. You never ignore my calls... I’m worried Anthony!” She knocked on the door again with more force, and my chest tightened. Juana was a little older than the rest of us and I had always felt like she was an older sister to me. I hated ignoring her. I stood still, not sure what to do. Not wanting to face my problems but not wanting to feel so alone right now. Before I had the chance to decide, the lock on my door started glowing a faint white-gray, the bright light from my windows making it almost imperceptible. My mouth went slack along with the rest of my body, forcing me to limply fall into the closest chair. The lock slowly twisted and the glow faded after it clicked open. I couldn’t move my arms, too stunned and overwhelmed. The door swung open and then I could see Juana standing on the other side. Familiar dark, wavy hair and a multitude of rings brought stinging tears to my eyes. 

“I thought you weren’t going to force your way in?” I asked sardonically, sniffing and wiping at my nose. She hummed and smiled sadly, not moving to enter.

“I’m not, I’m not even going to come inside, I told you I needed to see your face.” We both fell quiet. Sudden emotion made my face scrunch and I quickly squashed it. “ _ Oh Anthony _ , I know this is a lot, and I’m sorry for Charlie. We tried to convince her to let someone else go, but no one can control her.” Juana pressed her full lips together, looking regretful. I wanted to snort but I didn’t have it in me.

“I just-“I didn’t know how to finish, didn’t know what to say. 

“I know.” Juana forgot herself for a moment and moved to step inside. 

“No, you don’t!” I was shouting now, standing up. The foot she had inched towards the door set me off. “You don’t know what it’s like, you were already in on all this! You don’t know.” I flinched at the volume of my voice but when Juana looked affronted it only served to piss me off more. “Get  _ out _ , Juana. I need some time alone.” She glared at me, then spoke

“You don’t get to just start hating us because suddenly most of your friends are something different than you thought. Stop hiding in-“I cut her off.

“I don’t hate you, let’s make that clear. I’m terrified! I see some apparent vampire just murder a living person in cold blood. Then my friends show up to tell me, ‘oh hey Anthony don’t mind us, but just so you know we are all creatures too _!_ _Don’t mind_ me ruining your hearing _, don’t mind_ this othe _r vampire_ who’s literally standing over you _hissing!_ Don’t _mind_ us just barging into your house and _unlocking y_ our doors and not listen to you when you ask to be _left alone_ to try to at least _understand_ what’s happening _.”_ I’m panting and crying silently, my shoulders shaking. Juana moves to take another step in, to embrace me _or something,_ but I burst past her. I sprinted towards the stairs, heart thumping and my eyesight blurry. I almost break my ankle when I tripped down the second flight. Catching myself on the rails, I cursed and left the stairwell, looking for the elevator. I’m twitchy and crying harder as I wait for the abysmally slow elevator. When it arrives and I get on I press ground floor, hoping not to see Juana. 

When I get down to the bottom floor I’m surprised I can still see enough to recognize Juana as she’s desperately looking around. I hesitate not wanting her to look back, with trembling hands she digs through her satchel for her phone and Immediately starts calling someone. She taps her foot for a moment before she peeks her head out the door, I assume to see if I was outside. As quietly as possible I step out of the elevator and dash towards a side hall where I can still see Juana waiting for someone to pick up. 

“Thank- What? No, I. Hold on!” Juana sounded overwhelmed but I couldn’t find it in myself to feel guilty. “I lost him, he ran out and now I can’t find him.” She sighed after listening to whoever was on the other end,” I know, I thought it was better that I came to see him. I messed up big time, but right now we need to find him. He’s scared and doesn’t know who to trust right now, we need to gain some of that trust back… Okay, get everyone and put together a search party. And we’ll need someone to wait here in case he comes back.” Juana hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. I’d only ever seen Juana that stressed three times. All of those times I’d drive her to some place far from the city, and we sit in silence while she collects herself. After that I’d take her to dinner and then drop her off at home. It was something we both cherished and the realization that I had no intentions of talking to her made my tears flow more freely. I watched Juana, missing the comfort we brought to one another as she ran out the door in order to find me _. _ After a moment I mopped at my eyes and walked out the entrance of my apartment building myself, turning in the opposite direction of Juana. Not really caring where I go as long as it’s away from here. They, meaning my friends, were just going to keep bursting into my house until I said, “You know what I’m fine with you all being supernatural beings! Let’s go out to celebrate!” So, I guess if I wanted to be alone I need to go somewhere busy. As contradictory as that sounded. My friends would never think to look for me in a foot traffic heavy area.

I wiped at my nose again, shivering in the cold air. I hadn’t grabbed a jacket and I wasn’t wearing shoes either. The two-day old pajamas didn't hold much heat, so I soon began shivering. 

After walking for close to an hour and a half I was now in the busier part of town, wandering around aimlessly. My feet ached but I couldn’t feel my toes so it wasn’t  _ so _ bad.

But in reality, this sucked. I regretted not grabbing shoes or a jacket. I missed my friends, and I wanted to apologize to Juana for causing her so much stress. I stopped walking, aggravating whichever curse happy person was walking behind me, but I ignored them. I was sort of having a moment here,  _ jeez _ .

“Anthony? Is that you?” Whipping my head around I looked across the street to see Gabriel. I was so startled to see him that I didn’t answer. “Hold on Anthony, I’ll be right over. “ 

Gabriel was about to step in the street when a blaring car sped by, blowing his long coat into the air. He was forced to take a step back and a small line of cars came up behind the first one. A line of assholes blocking Gabriel from getting across. I realized I could disappear right now, if I wanted. This was my opportunity.

I stared at Gabriel, watched him glance at me and flash a nervous smile. Watched him waiting patiently. Watched as he smiled at a stranger who stood waiting with him. In this moment I couldn’t imagine him ripping someone apart, I couldn’t imagine him trying to drink someone’s blood without permission, he was just too polite. So, I waited. 

When he finally made his way across the street he smiled apologetically at me, but that was quickly dropped in a regretful grimace. His hair fluttered lightly in the biting breeze and I shivered, remembering for the millionth time I was just in a thin t-shirt and pajama pants. Gabriel looked down at my outfit in surprise.

“Here, take my jacket, you must be freezing.” Before I could argue he was pulling his arms out and throwing his long coat over my shoulders. The warmth making me shiver again.

“Don’t you need it?” I said uncertainly, my voice sounding weak. He smiled secretively at me and then I realized what that look meant. “ _ Ugh _ , is this a-“I broke off into a whisper,” a  _ vampire _ thing?”

Gabriel burst out laughing at my tone. Practically giggling.

“Yes, I just realized you probably don’t know much about Vampires. Well, about the supernatural in general.” He paused, looking around. “Let’s get you inside, get you warmed up.” He looked at me hopefully, and I took this as Gabriel giving me a choice. 

“The only  _ facts, _ ” I said facts with finger quotations, slightly embarrassed “I know about the supernatural are the ones I’ve learned from movies and books.” Gabriel nodded and smiled fondly. 

“You’ll know some of what I’m going to tell you then.” We started walking and Gabriel quickly showed me to a cozy looking restaurant.. It looked like it hadn’t been renovated since the seventies, but it was well cared for. The dark, fake wooden accents were polished and the fading, yellow, vinyl seats appeared spotless. I went to sit down at the nearest empty table, but Gabriel ushered me down a side hall, past the curve of the counter, to a separate room. Gabriel walked over to a table near the floor to ceiling window and pulled out my chair, gesturing for me to sit. He slid into the chair across from me, facing the hall.

“I’ve never been here before.” I was looking around at the almost empty diner, curious. Gabriel smiled sadly, fiddling with his coffee cup. 

“The food has changed, but it’s still good.” He murmured, smiling at our waiter when he walked over. 

“Hey Gabriel, nice seeing you again. What will you have to drink?” The black man, who was rather gangly looking in his starched uniform, nodded to me after he greeted Gabriel. 

“It’s nice seeing you too. I’ll just have a coffee and a slice of your wife’s famous Black Forest cake.” Gabriel’s smile was sweet, the sort of sweet that made you want to cup someone’s face to try to keep the smile there. The older man’s laughter pulled me from my thoughts, thankfully. 

“You’re the only person who thinks that cake should be famous.” He froze, looking over his shoulder before adding hastily, “not that it’s  _ not _ amazing.” The man then turned to me and I glanced at Gabriel, not sure what to get. Gabriel had an amused look on his face and I scowled at him. 

“Do you like soup? Mindee makes the most wonderful chicken and dumpling soup.” Gabriel finally offered. Hot soup sung symphonies to my frozen toes, so I agreed. Asking for a cup of milk with some black tea. When the man left Gabriel became more solemn. Folding his hand on the table after pushing the mug to his left. “George and Mindee are human so let’s not talk too loud.” I nodded, my mouth tasting sour. I cleared my throat.

“You said I would know some of what you were going to tell me?” He nodded, thinking about what his answer was going to be. 

“Many human myths about supernatural creatures actually hold some validity. For instance, Garlic is like a poison to me and silver will give me nasty burns on contact. As if it was red hot when it touched my skin.” I winced at the thought and he nodded agreeingly. The man who I assumed was George came over and poured Gabriel’s coffee.

“Your tea will be out in a minute.” George said to me before retreating. Once he was far enough that I thought he couldn’t hear us, I turned back to Gabriel.

“Are you able to eat human food? Does it taste different to you?” He smiled, picking up his full coffee cup.

“Mhm,” He swallowed down his sip of coffee, “I can’t survive off of human food, you see. It doesn’t have all the nutrition I need to survive, but it does taste good…” He paused looking confused, peering into his coffee. “I’m not really sure if it tastes different to me? It’s been so long since I was human and the food is so different from then.” Gabriel sat, brow scrunched, lost in thought for a while. I let him, just trying to grapple with what he said.  _ Holy shit, he’s a fucking vampire... You already knew that dumbass,  _ I thought to myself, swallowing my shock.

“Oh, okay.” After a few minutes of silence, he shook himself and looked back up at me.

“Sorry, lost myself there. Um, where were we?” I sat back confused how someone so kind,  _ kind _ really wasn’t the right word but it would work, could be a vampire. I decided it was safe enough to voice my confusion, hoping he killed me quick if I pissed him off.

“When you eat… do people always have to  _ die _ ?” I felt my tone sharpen as I continued, “How can you stand that? Was seeing that dead body  _ normal  _ to you?... I just- I just don’t understand how someone so…  _ you _ , could,” my voice broke quietly, “kill someone.”.” Gabriel looked confused for a moment, and a little taken aback before realization flashed in his eyes.

“Oh! You think all vampires eat like  _ that _ ? No, no, that man was a poor excuse of a vampire. Most of the time our meals don’t have to die when they are fed from.” He leaned towards me, eyes earnest. “Personally, I often have a doctor friend of mine who gets blood donations for me. I just pay him back.”

My face flushed with shame. “Holy shit, I’m a jackass.” This made Gabriel laugh loud enough to make a woman walking outside jump. 

“You didn’t know, I’m sorry I didn’t explain that sooner. I’m surprised that you’ve actually been so calm, talking to me, when you probably thought I could rip your head off at any moment. The reason that beast was eating so roughly, ripping at the body, was because he purposely starved himself before eating. If a vampire waits too long to drink proper blood, we can lose some of our rationality. Some enjoy the…  _ excitemen _ t, they would call it... It’s frowned upon to mutilate someone so badly, to kill for enjoyment, so the vampires are usually made to pay for their crimes... or killed.” Gabriel said the last part so matter of factly that I choked. 

“Oh.” There was another silence in which I wondered what happened to the vampire I saw in the alley, that was broken by George bringing our food out. My mug of tea steaming next to a large bowl, which was also steaming.

“Here you go, enjoy!” George slid the tray under his arm before turning to walk back to the front of the restaurant..

“How about we start eating? You should probably start warming up soon.” Gabriel offered, studying me worriedly. Picking up my spoon and tried the broth first. As the warmth traveled down my throat I began to melt, the taste bringing me a sense of peace and home even though I had never had it before. I pulled the jacket when it started to fall off my shoulders, noticing that I would probably never fit in it. My shoulders were a little too wide and my arms too long. 

“This is delicious.” I admitted after gobbling down one of the giant, pillowlike pieces of dough in the soup. I Glanced at Gabriel to see him leaning on his fist, happily licking frosting off of his fork, a childlike joy in his face. He suddenly perked up, only to see me watching him, and I flushed.

“Hmm? Sorry, did you say something?” A warmth flared in my chest, embarrassingly.

“Nothing, that cake looks delicious.” and I wasn’t lying, it looked like something off the cover of a cake baking magazine. The chocolate cake looked moist and the frosting fluffy, the cherries inside a beautiful wine red. Gabriel smiled as I stared at the cake. 

“Would you like some?” he asked, pushing the plate towards me.

“Oh, uh-yes please?” I scrambled to find something to eat the cake with, only having my soup spoon. I reached for my napkin and began cleaning it, but Gabriel waved his fork to get my attention.

“Just use this, I don’t mind.” I blushed, hesitantly putting down my spoon and reaching for his offered fork.

“Are you sure?” I asked shyly, looking at him with warm cheeks. Gabriel nodded encouragingly, and I took the fork. Watching for my reaction, his eyes stayed on my face, I fought to keep my blush down to a minimum. Cutting a small forkfull I brought it up to my mouth and glanced up to see his eyes flickering downwards from mine. I saw his tongue flicker out briefly.

As soon as the cake touched my taste buds, a quiet sound escaped from between my lips. The taste of rich chocolate cake and the cream cheese frosting coating my tongue was heavenly and I savored the taste of the cherry when I finally bit through one. My eyes closed involuntarily. Lazily opening one eye, I slid the plate closer to me and peeked at Gabriel. This made him chuckle lowly, his tongue peeking out briefly before sucking his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes intent.

“I assume you like it?” He chuckled; I didn’t answer, thinking only to eat more cake. “Hey, that’s my cake!” Gabriel gasped, only now noticing how much I had eaten. I made a biting motion towards his reaching hands before eating another piece and finally giving him his fork back. Opening my eyes fully I could see him looking at me with a smirk, lips twisted deliciously in amusement.

It was a good look for him, but I wasn’t going to admit that aloud any time soon.

Sadly, I went back to eating my own food, but was surprised when he offered me the fork after eating a bite. I flashed him a smile - when taking the fork, our fingers brushed. 

“Thanks.” I murmured.

When I made eye contact that time he was smiling softly at me before it slowly melted into something more serious. 

“We need to talk about what happened the past two days.”

I swallowed the cake and looked at him solemnly, waiting for him to continue.

“I’m truly sorry for how I treated you two days ago. I was frustrated with having to deal with something so... vulgar and I was worried he would get far enough away that I wouldn’t find him that night. I should have focused more on making sure you were alright.” Gabriel rubbed at his face, his shoulders sagging. I bit my lip before slowly reaching over to rest my hand on his shoulder.

“I-” swallowing, remembering that night, I continued- “I’m glad you went after him instead of… taking care of me. It’s better that he’s not on the streets murdering people.” After I said this Gabriel gave me a soft smile, and I gave a weak one back. He reached up and gave my hand a squeeze, before continuing again. 

“You are kind, Anthony, but also stubborn. Your other friends truly love you, right now they have taken off work to go looking for you. I don’t think you should ignore that.” His look was imploring, and hard to deny. “Why are you running?”

I looked down at the table and dropped my hand, not totally sure myself. “I’m overwhelmed, and knowing my friends they think I hate them and won’t leave me alone till they think I’m not angry anymore.” I groaned in frustrations, trying to put my emotions into words, “It’s just that- that I’m so overwhelmed. One day I see some guy murder somebody, the next day I find out he was a vampire and that most of my friends are supernatural creatures. Not only do I find out that most of my friends are supernatural creatures but they bust into my house and get mad at me when I’m having a hard time dealing with it all. I just needed time to come to terms with the fact that the world is very different than I thought it was.” I finished, feeling a weight leave my chest. Gabriel nodded understandingly, pushing the soup towards me when he saw me shiver once more. 

George briefly checked on us, filling Gabriel’s coffee again. When he left, Gabriel started fixing up his coffee instead of making eye contact.

“How would you feel if I called Juana so you two can talk?” When Gabriel finished asking, he glanced up at me through his eyelashes innocently. Taking a deep breath and holding it, I tried to sort through the barrage of emotions that were rushing through me and realized that most of those emotions wanted to see Juana. So, when I looked back at Gabriel, I quietly replied.

“Do it. Assemble the masses.” Gabriel’s face scrunched up in confusion and he looked down at the table before pulling out his flip phone. Once he called Juana, she would call my other friends to fill them in.

Bye-bye quiet restaurant.

Everyone would know where we were and would all rush to get here. Juana answered almost immediately, a thin layer of sweat instantly coated my body.  _ I better finish this cake before the hoard gets here _ , like hell was I going to share. 

“Juana, I found Anthony and he’s ready to talk to you… Yes, he’s fine.” he paused listening to her speak, “We’re at a small diner downtown... “Gabriel told her the address and the name of the diner. Then the call was over and Gabriel was staring vacantly down at the empty plate until he slowly looked back up at my stuffed cheeks, a look of betrayal shining in his eyes. “That was  _ my _ cake.”

I realized my mistake, freezing mid-chew.

“Luugh ohrr mrr cahe.” When I tried to reply a bit of cake flew out of my mouth. Gabriel only leaned his head on his fist.

“How am I a-” he cut himself off, blushing a little, now refusing to make eye contact. 

“What?” I asked, after I finally swallowed, not sure what he was asking, but my interest piqued after seeing the red flush of his cheeks.

_ What was he going to say? _

Gabriel shook his head, refusing to answer. When George came out to check on us after a good fifteen minutes I ordered another slice of cake for Gabriel. It came out in another minute and Gabriel decided I wasn’t allowed any more until I finished my soup. So, there I was, sadly eating soup when some of our mutual friends walked in.

“Anthony! We were so worried; how did you end up in this side of town? You hate it here.” Juana said, jogging over. Behind her Charlie came up, arms folded across her chest while Brady had a hand on her shoulder. Behind him, my other friends piled in. Ronan with his tall and built frame shadowed closely behind Janay, his long-time partner in crime and spouse. Through the glass that took up most of the wall facing the street, I could see Emily waiting patiently outside for everyone to enter first with her hands folded in front of her long skirt. 

“I wanted to go somewhere I knew you guys wouldn’t look... I- uh, overheard your phone conversation before you left my building.” I nervously scratched my dirty-blond hair. Ronan snorted, reflexively slingling an arm over Janay’s shoulders. 

“Wait, is that-?” Ronan exchanged glances with Janay, looking amused. “Is that Gabriel’s jacket?” Janay was smirking at Gabriel now, delighted by Ronan’s observation. A deep blush covered my face almost instantly.

“You know, that’s how Ronan and I met,” Janay leaned against Ronan, head against his arm. “I found his coat and we started dating, once Ronan realized I wasn’t so bad.” The couple smiled at each other sappily.

“Then we fell in love.” Ronan added in a deep timbre. I sighed, my petty, little human heart melting. 

“I found him without a jacket out in the cold, and I don’t need mine, so I gave it to him. It’s the right thing to do.” Gabriel retorted, a tad too defensive. When I glanced back to him I saw a faint blush coloring his cheeks for a second time. Juana hummed sarcastically, and raised her eyebrows. 

Before we could continue, George bustled over, muttering how Gabriel didn’t warn him that our friends were joining us. Eventually we were all settled, George pulling over a table to connect to ours, Janay helping to push it. 

Just as George was about to take their orders, Emily finding a seat next to Gabriel, when Seo-Yeon and Kaala walked in. Kaala looked less than impressed, her toned arms were crossed over her chest. Seo-Yeon lifted her black sunglasses and gave me an apologetic look. When Gabriel saw the upset press of her lips, he politely asked George to give everyone a second to settle in. In a minute George was briskly stepping away and Kaala stood in his place, looking at me before looking at the floor, her chin wrinkling. 

“H-,” her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “Why would you run like that?” when she finally looked back at me her eyes were watery and wide. My throat caught painfully, and I opened my mouth without anything to say.

“Anthony doesn’t need to apologize. We all messed up.” Juana finally spoke up, her voice calming. I swallowed and could finally find my voice. 

“I do need to explain myself, it’s only fair.” Everyone turned to me, Gabriel smiling encouragingly, “I didn’t mean to make you guys think I hated you or anything. I just... I needed a minute to think without other people trying to talk to me...” I trailed off, not really sure what else to say. 

“Do you need us to do anything? To explain anything?” Kaala looked a little uncertain, turning to the rest of our friends for support. Charlie sighed and glared at Brady, drawing attention to the two. Like before, Brady had a hand on her shoulder, even as they were sitting, their eyes leveled on one another. After a minute of Brady looking stern and Charlie tapping her fingers, blowing stray hairs from her face, Brady nodded at her and released her shoulder.

“Why don’t we all go around the table like we’re at some summer camp for tweens and introduce ourselves?” Charlie both sounded and looked bored, picking at her nails. Brady snorted and sat back in his seat, apparently done acting like her guard. Juana smoothed out her shirt next to me before speaking. 

“I’ll start since I’ll be the least shocking.” She turned to me, smiling warmly. “I’m Juana and I-as you know- am a witch.” To her right Charlie told me for the second time that she was a banshee, but thankfully didn’t try to prove it. Brady leaned around her, with an impish smile.

“Hi, I’m Brady, and I am fae.” I blinked, thinking about the few things I knew about Fae. Which was very little. 

“Cool?” I said nervously, trying to be polite, which got the whole table laughing. I sucked in my bottom lip and glanced at Gabriel only to see him laughing as well.  _ Screw you _ .

“I am a Selkie, that’s actually part of the reason Janay and I started dating in the first place.” Ronan voiced, a smile on his uneven lips. They were shaped in a way that always made it look like he was smirking, which usually got him into some trouble. Janay shifted uncomfortably in her seat before murmuring.

“Actually, it’s Jay right now.”  _ he _ , not she glanced at his husband through uncomfortable eyes and Ronan quickly apologize. They sat, gazing coyly into one another’s eyes, before Brady cleared his throat. We all laughed again when Jay ducked his head into Ronan’s shoulder.

“Babe, you have to tell Anthony what you are…” Ronan whispered into Jay’s hair, eyes shining. Jay picked his head up and smiled sheepishly at me before telling me he was a Nix or Nixe , depending on the moment.

When the table grew quiet again George popped his head out from around the corner and bustled over quickly, cutting off the rest of the “introductions.” 

“Looks like everyone is having a good time, is anyone ready to order?” It took a good fifteen minutes for everyone to order, in which I could see Kaala start glancing from me to her hands, brows furrowed. She was next to tell me what kind of supernatural creature she was and She didn’t exactly seem nervous, but I could bet Kaala would be more comfortable not saying anything at all. George finally left for the millionth time, going back to Mindee to place our orders.

“So Kaala,” I said casually, “It’s your turn.” My eyes were innocent but I could feel my lips twitching. 

“Oh, Fuck you, Anthony.  _ Smug little asshole _ .” Kaala fumed at the table, furiously wiping her eyes while Seo-yeon snickered into her own hand. “I’m a Jiniri, okay?” she cut me off before I could ask, “I’m a fucking  _ genie _ if the name Jiniri doesn’t ring any bells. But if you  _ try _ to call me a Genie I will give you a black eye. And don’t you  _ dare _ ask for any wishes.” By the end of her little rant my hands were in the air, and my eyebrows raised. 

“No wishes, no ‘G word’, got it.” She nodded and glared with steely eyes at Seo-yeon, effectively closing off that conversation. Per usual, Seo-yeon was direct and to the point, brushing her shortly cropped, black hair back.

“Wraith.” she said, and looked to Emily beside her, Seo-yeon’s spiked bracelet shining where it rested on the back of the booth. Not unusual for herself, Emily only spoke then, preferring to listen more than speak. 

“Well, I’m not exactly a supernatural creature-” she was cut off by Juana trying to assure that she was, in fact, a part of the supernatural community, but Emily only smiled tightly at Juana and continued. “I’m a ghost, Anthony. I’ve been dead since 1816.” her hands were folded neatly on the table, a hazy luminescence faintly visible. I swallowed and met her eyes. 

“I’m sorry? That must be difficult.” Stiffly, I kept my face neutral, only my twitching cheek giving away my inner turmoil. How do you respond to your friend telling you they’ve been dead for way longer than you’ve been alive? Her own expression changed minutely, gracing me with a small smile. She turned to Gabriel and nodded politely, tucking a lose hair behind her ear. When Gabriel turned to me, he winced.

“You already know what I am, we talked about it earlier.” Gabriel said, and I smiled faintly. Charlie huffed and started arguing about the unfairness of Gabriel not having to do “the stupid introduction,” when- next to me- Juana cleared her throat.

“Jack is out of town at the moment, but he gave me permission to tell you that he is a changeling,.” I nodded, staring at the table. All of this new information a bit overwhelming. My stomach was in knots and I felt weirdly itchy. Losing myself in thought, I stared at the table, wondering if my life would change now that I knew supernatural creatures were real and kicking. What did that mean for our friendships? Would they start telling me about weird supernatural shit now that I knew? Would I suddenly start seeing a shit ton more death and magical shit now that I knew it was there? The itch wormed its way onto my scalp, and I scratched it without thinking. 

The sound of something scraping across the table made me look up, and I saw Gabriel sliding me the rest of his cake. I couldn’t help but laugh and glanced up to see him grinning handsomely. I took the fork from his offered hand and dug in, eventually offering him a bite with a big cherry. I glanced over at the rest of my friends to see what they were doing, mirth in my eyes, only to see all of them watching us with an array of surprised expressions. Except for Ronan and Janay, who seemed to be cooing to one another, alternating between glancing at Gabriel and I and sharing a knowing look. I realized how it looked to them, Gabriel and I sharing cake and I wearing his jacket. Then it donned on me that I didn’t mind, and  _ that’s  _ when I flushed a deep enough red to rival the cherries in the cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is reading. Special thanks to those who commented. Extra special thanks to those who left kudos. Super extra special thanks, as always, to the awesome Kidwrite for putting up with my shit and helping me make this book make sense.  
> Feel free to leave comments about how I can make Inspirational better, I love feedback! Any-who, happy reading and I'll see ya soon.

**Author's Note:**

> hehe? I hoped you liked it? Thanks for reading? comment with tips on how to make this better if you'd like?


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